Fish bait or lure.



C. W. BIDWELL.

FISH BAIT 0R LURE.

APPLICATION FILED .IULYZO, 1914.

1,14,,l49 Patented July 27, 1915.

awueu toz 6L IFFO/PQ W Elan ELL rear position,

being shown omrronn WJBIDWELL, or KALAMAzoo, MICHIGAN.

. FISH BAIT on LURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 27, 1915.

Application liled J u'ly 2Q, 1914. Serial No. 851,947.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that Ly CLIFFORD W. BIDWELL, a citizen of the United"States, residing at Kalamazoo, Michigan, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Fish Baits or Lures, of which the following is aspec fication. Thisinvention relates to improvements in fish baits orlures. L

The main objects of thisinvention. are: First, to provide an improvedfish bait or lure which is substantially Weedless and at the same timeone in which the hooks are fully exposed to the strike of the fish.Second, to provide in a fish bait or lure an improved means forvlimiting the swing of the hooks, whereby they are properly presented. toreceivethe strike of the fish and support ed in properposition;

structural details, will definitely. appear from thedetailed descriptionto follow.

I vaccomplish the objects'of my invention by the devices and meansfollowing specification. V

The invention is clearly defined and pointed out in the claims.

A structure which is a preferred em bodiment ofv my invention is clearlyillustrated in the accompanying drawing forming a part of thisspecification, in which:

Figure I is a side view of my improved fish bait or lure with the guardshown in full lines asit hangs freely and by dotted lines in its forwardposition. Fig. II is a'detail longitudinal sect on on a linecorresponding to line 22 of Fig. III, with the guard in its as when thebait is being drawn over an obstruction or propelled through the water,and. the hooks in position commonly assumed when being propelled throughthe water. Fig. IIIis a detail rear view. Fig. IV is a transversesection "through the neck of the lure on a line correline 4:-4: of Fig.I, the hook by dotted lines swung to one side. Fig-V is a detailvertical section on a line corresponding to line 5 5 of Fig. II showingstructural details.

In the drawing similar reference characters refer to similar partsthroughout the sponding to described in the several views, and thesectional views are taken, looking in the direction of the little arrowsat the endsof the section lines.

Referring to the drawing, my improved bait orlure, as illustrated,comprises a body portion 1, head portion 2 and a reduced or neck portion3. I The headportion is tapered forwardly, the line attaching eye 1being at itstip. The hooks -5 are. provided with eyed shanks upon whichare secured concavoconvex disks 6, thedisks being secured so as to faceinwardly and embrace the eyes 7 The hook attaching screw eyes v 8pivotal'ly support the hooks so that the disks may swing against thebody and thus limit the swingingmovement of the hook. To prevent theabradingofthe body I provide a g I protector plate 9 which, in thestructure Further ob ects, and; objects relating to illustrated,- has afi ange .10 at its rear end overlapping the rear end of the body.

In the structure illustrated, the. attaching screw eyes '8 engage theholes 12 and 13 in. the plate so that the screw eyes servethe doublefunction of attaching the hooks and securing the plate. The rear hole 13is in the angle of the plate so that thedisk of the 1 rear hook mayswing against the side of the plate or against its flange, thuspermitting it to swing to a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. II. Inpractice the plate is formed of bright metal and adds to the at- I Itractiveness of the bait, The disks on the shanks also add to theattractiveness of the bait.

The guard 14, in the structure illustrated, V is formed of a loop ofwire, the bight 15 of the loop being curved down to provide a connectingcross piece for the arms of the guard loosely embracing the under sideof the neck "the guard and the pivots. The arms of the guard divergedownwardly so that the lateral swing of the hook is within the planes ofthe arms, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. IV. The hooks ordinarilyconstitute sufficient weight to keep the body in upright position. Inits front position the guard inclines forwardly, as shown by dottedlines, so that in casting it readily passes over any obstruction withwhich it may come in contact. Inits rear position the guard inclinesrearwardly so as to readily pass over an obstruction as the bait isdrawn forward. The hooks-however, are entirely free and independent intheir movement from the movement of the guard. lVhen the bait passesover an obstruction it rides upon the guard arms carryingthe'hooks overthe same. By thisarrangement of partsthe hooks are free to swing withinthe limits permitted by the disks 6 and at the same time are supportedinthe proper position to receive the strike of the fish, and as stated,the bait may be drawn through weeds or like obstructions withoutthehooks becoming engaged.

I have illustrated and described my improved Weedless bait or'lure in asimple embodiment which ,I have found to be very desirable. Thestructure may be greatly modified without departing from my invention. Ihave not attempted to illustrate or describe various "modificationswhich I contemplate as I believe the'disclosure made will enable thoseskilled in the art to which my invention relates to embody or adapt. thesame as may be desired. V 7

' Havingthus described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. Ina fish bait or lure, the combination of a body having ahead portionand a neck portion and provided with a depending hook,'a guard formed ofa loop of wire, the bight of the loop being curved downwardly andlooselyembracing the under side of the neck portion and constituting astop member engaging" with the neck, the arms being coiled at theirupper ends to provide-pivot eyes,an d pivots engaging said eyes disposedtransversely of said neck, said head constituting a guard for saidpivots and stop member.

2. 'In a fish bait or lure, the combination of a body having aheadp'ortion and a neck portion and provided with a depending hook, aguard formed of a loop of wire, the bight of the loop constituting astop member engaging with the neck, the arms being coiled at their upperends to provide pivot eyes, and pivots engaging said eyes disposedtransversely of said neck, said head constituting a guard for saidpivots and stop member.

3;In a fish bait or lure, the combination of a body provided with adepending hook, and a pivoted guard formed of a loop con- 'stitutingastop member limiting the movement or the" guard:

4. In a fish bait or lure, the combination of a body having a headportion and a neck portion and provided with a hook, and a guardpivotally mounted on said neck comprisinga pair of spaced arms with aconnecting cross piece at their upper ends, said cross piececonstituting a stop to limit the pivotal movement of said guard, saidguard swingingfreelv between its front and rear said guard andpermitting said guard to swing freely between its front and rearpositions, said head constituting a guard for the upper ends of saidarms. I

Ina fish bait or lure, the combination of a body provided with a hook, aguard comprising a pair of spaced arms with a connecting cross piece attheir upper ends, the cross piece and arms being formed integrally ofwire'with coils at the upper ends of the arms to providep'ivot eyes, andpivots engaging said pivotally supported, said cross piece constitutinga stop to limit the pivotal movement of said guard, said guard swingingfreely between its front and rear positions. 7. In a fish bait or 'lure,the combination of the body, a hook pivotally mounted at the front endof the bodyto depend there from, spaced guard arms pivotally mounted onsaid body to project downwardly therefrom, and a stop member limitingthe swing of said guard disposed so that the guard is inclinedrearwardly when in its rear position and is inclined forwardly when inits front position, the guard moving freely within the limit of saidstop.

8.'In a' fish bait or lure, the combination with the body of a hookpivotally mounted on said body to depend therefrom, a guard;

port the body in an elevated position as it is drawn over anobstructlon, and means for eyes whereby said guard is limiting themovement of said guard on its pivot, the guard being inclined forwardlywhen in its front position and being inclined rearwardly when in itsrear position, the pivotal movement of said guard and said hook on saidbody being independent of each other.

9. In a 'fishbait or lure, the combination with the body' of a hookpivotally mounted on said body ,to depend therefrom, a guard havingspaced arms pivotally mounted on said body to project downwardlytherefrom,

a stop member limiting the swing of said my hand'and seal in thepresence of two witguard dilslposeg so that the guard is inclinednesses. rearwar y W on in its rear position and is V inclined forwardlyWhen in its front posi- CLIFFORD BIDWELL' 5 tion, and means for limitingthe lateral Witnesses:

swing of the hook. MARGARET L. GLAsGow,

Witness whereof, I have hereunto set LUELLA G. GREENFIELD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. I l

